Watson eyes Ashes pointers

Shane Watson is desperate to be on a winning Ashes side and feels preparations for next summer's renewal will begin with Friday's ODI.

Watson was part of the Australia side that came to England in 2009 with high hopes of retaining the Ashes but left on the wrong end of a 2-1 score line. And he was also in the Aussie team that was hammered 3-1 by England in the last series between the two great rivals Down Under. The schedule has been slightly altered for the next two Ashes series, with next summer's showpiece in England followed immediately by a return trip Down Under and so the two teams will get to know each other very well. Michael Clarke's men will face Alastair Cook's charges over five one-day internationals in the next couple of weeks, with the first match set to take place at Lord's on Friday, and Watson hopes he and his team-mates can learn something from the 50-over contests that might help them in their quest to win back the famous urn next summer. "After being involved in two Ashes losses now, it is a burning desire inside me to be a part of a successful Ashes series," he said. "Any time you play against England you want success. It is the ultimate rivalry and the ultimate challenge for an Australian cricketer, to play against England and win. "I haven't been a part of that in Test matches and now is a time to be able to put some things in place so we can have some success when we come back here during the Ashes. We can learn about the cricket we need to play to beat the English over here." All eyes will be on new teenage pace sensation Pat Cummins at headquarters on Friday, as he gets set to play his first match against England, and Watson feels his unknown quantities could give him the edge over England's top order. "Pat Cummins is a very highly skilled young man," he added. "No doubt he will be a handful, especially for the English who haven't seen him much. That will be a nice little wildcard for us."